Paris-based, English fashion designer Gareth Pugh has, in a few short seasons, managed to turn his shows into one of the hottest tickets in town. He is truly an artist who works with form, volume, texture, proportion, art, multimedia, and theater in a way that very few other designers can. He had presence in New York during Fashion Week via a well-received film directed by Ruth Hogben that was screened at MAC and Milk Studios (some might recall, the designer showed a film last season – also created in collaboration with Ruth Hogben – in place of a traditional runway show during Paris Fashion Week), which let up to his wonderfully surprising showing in Paris.

Unlike Pugh’s shows in the past three seasons, his collection for Spring/Summer 2010 was a soft take on his darker, club kid meets heavy metal/goth aesthetic – though the color palette remained a melancholic mix of grays and black.

While there were a number of fluid, draped touches, the most stunning pieces were those that were hyper body-consciously tailored — mainly his outerwear and mini dresses that I’m sure people will be dying to wear come Spring.

While the looks that made their way down the runway may not all have been wearable from head-to-toe, it was clear that Pugh, this season, attempted to turn some of his theatrics and over-the-top shapes and materials into something more commercial.

The designer did this without sacrificing an inch of his signature dark flare – the show ended with a black bridal dress and I’m thinking, much to the delight of his devoted following, that is about as light-hearted as Pugh will get.